By Jeanne Friedman
In just a few short weeks how everything changed, from waking up to the beautiful sunshine with a blue-sky backdrop and palm tree filled horizon, and with that feeling of joy and happiness, so lucky to be ‘living the dream’…to a real fear; of the unknown, keeping safe and of course keeping financially afloat.
In a second the rug was pulled and although those beautiful surroundings have not changed, our mindsets truly have. As we watch the news avidly in both the US and the UK we are all on shaky ground, not knowing quite what to do. For us personally we have spent the last few years growing our property development business and (like most of us Brits) worked tirelessly to build a solid business in real estate, working ‘hands on’ seven days a week for months on end. The timing was lousy, as we were adding the final touches to our newest and biggest project to date in Tarzana when news of the virus hit. This was also the first project with our new ‘property partner’ a Grammy award-winning producer whose artists and albums hugely influenced us in our long careers in the music and TV industry way back in the day in England. That in itself was a ‘pinch yourself moment’ but that is LA though, anything is possible…however that is a thread for another day!
For us personally this has been a challenging time deciding what to do about listing the property. Thankfully real estate and the construction industry are both deemed an ‘essential business’. However, as no gatherings are permitted and the stay at home order was announced, it means that open houses are strictly off limits and although private viewings are technically allowed observing social distancing practices, not many people are really up for coming out to look at houses. We took a chance and listed the property with as much marketing material as possible to showcase the house on-line so buyers could at least get a real sense of the property and life style without leaving their homes. Our realtor agent put together a good website with an excellent video and we adjusted our initial price expectation to accommodate the ever-changing situation. We launched and now we wait and see.
Speaking with real estate agents it seems that the whole business is in a state of flux, no one really knows how the housing market will be affected long term. It was a buoyant market pre-COVID19 with a relatively low inventory, many serious buyers and multiple offers. How long will the strict lockdown remain in place? What are the serious financial implications moving forward into next year? We acknowledge how hard it is for everyone, we are all in the same boat and that holds some comfort and in our ex-pat British community feel we are pulling closer than ever together to weather the storm. I love all the posts on the Brits in LA Facebook page and feel we are all helping each other through this uncertainty. The great British spirit truly feels like it is here with us across the pond.
Personally, we try to remain positive, that is all we can do right now. We are so proud of what we have achieved in the last few years and in a true Brit networking fashion we are unashamedly brazen in asking our community to please help spread the word. Once this is all over we will host a Brits in LA poolside breakfast to show our sincere thanks and gratitude to our wonderful community. In the meantime, please keep well, keep safe and keep socially distant. See you on the other side!
Here’s our baby: www.19305redwing.com
